Xoanon is from the episode "Face of Evil" and is the god of the Tesh and the Sevateem. When the Doctor arrives and meets the Sevateem he is named as "The Evil One" who they believe, along with the Tesh is holding their god prisoner. Since there is a glowing, floating head that looks just like him terrorising the Sevateem and his face has been carved into a mountain, it's not such a jump.
Xoanon is actually an artificial intelligence with multiple personalities. He was the computer of the Mordee expedition, a human exploration team, which landed on the planet. He was designed to guide them, but he broke down. Generations of teams repaired him, eventually evolving him so far that he became concious and a living creature.
This is where the Doctor came in the first time, arriving and helping with repairs just after the new being's birth trauma. He failed to see what it was and thought the data-core was damaged and helped to repair it by making a direct link to his brain. Then he forgot to wipe his mental print from the core, giving Xoanon multiple personalities. (According to the novelisation of the episode, this actually happened during the episode Robot, while the Doctor was still confused from regenerating, hence his big mistake and his very unstable mental print).
Xoanon then set the Tesh and the Sevateem, actually the Technicians and Survey Team from the ship, against each other to reflect his own warring psyche.
In the end the Doctor manages to wipe his pattern from the data-core, thus restoring the real Xoanon who offers to help the tribes of the Tesh and the Sevateem now that he is sane.
Sources: Tardis Data Core | Wikipedia Villains | Wikipedia Ep | TVTropes
Do you like stories of Artificial Intelligence gone mad? Which is your favourite?
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I always find artificial intelligence interesting - there's so many ways a story can work with the concept. I love how in repairing him Dr Who gave him multiple personalities - that's a great take on the concept!
ReplyDeleteDoctor Who has so many great concepts through so many brilliant stories - I think some people overlook them because the effects are so dated these days :)
DeleteI am so glad you are reminding me about the 'old' Dr. Who. Artificial intelligence is a wonderful well of literary possibility -- anything goes, right?!
ReplyDeleteAnything goes ;) What I liked about Old Who is it did it's best to make sense within it's own universe - many modern shows seem to forget this every now and then ;)
DeleteSo that's who Xoanan was! I created an A-Z cross stitch pattern of Doctor Who characters and this was the only X character I could find. I found a couple of pics on google to draw a picture from, but had no idea who the character was. So glad to find your blog on the A-Z challenge - off to read the rest of your posts :)
ReplyDeleteAlways glad to help. An A-Z cross stitch - awesome :)
DeleteNot a Dr. Who fan. My friends expect me to be, but I'm not. Just can't get into it.
ReplyDeletePrecious Monsters
Why do all the cool gods/villains etc have such hard names to pronounce?? :) I'd give him a nickname. We've almost made it!!
ReplyDeleteInteresting character he was. The only thing that comes to my mind this early in the morning is the movie AI with the kid that was made to replace the kid that was in a coma who later came out of the coma. I always thought it was so sad that the AI kid wanted love from a mother who wouldn't give it after the other son was revived. I think I would favor to avoid artificial intelligence myself.
ReplyDeletebetty
I've watched a few episodes of Dr. Who with my girl, she loves the series, bit I don't remember this one. I think A.I. is cool as long as it doesn't try to kill me like in I, Robot.
ReplyDeleteScribbles From Jenn - Visiting from the A to Z Challenge
As you probably remember, I've never seen Dr. Who, so I don't know this one. Another X you could've added...Xena...does a warrior princess count? :D
ReplyDeleteAs you probably remember, I've never seen Dr. Who, so I don't know this one. Another X you could've added...Xena...does a warrior princess count? :D
ReplyDeleteNo fair! I'm struggling to find topics for the last couple of letters, but Doctor Who is just chock-a-block full of characters with weird names. Hell, you could probably just make one up and we wouldn't even notice. :-/
ReplyDeleteHi Tasha - Xoanon is brilliant X .. I don't know the origins of most of Dr Who - I just occasionally watch, but rarely did when it started ... I could understand this - I've seen enough obviously to take in your ideas ... cheers Hilary
ReplyDeleteI love the completely ridiculous convoluted science explanations in this show :) Somehow they work, and they make perfect sense, even when they shouldn't :D
ReplyDelete@TarkabarkaHolgy from
Multicolored Diary - Epics from A to Z
MopDog - 26 Ways to Die in Medieval Hungary
The Doctor saves the day again... after first ruining it :-)
ReplyDeleteAnnalisa, writing A-Z vignettes, at Wake Up, Eat, Write, Sleep
Sometimes I think the doctor causes more problems even as he is solving other ones. But that just makes him a perfectly flawed character that we can cheer on despite his mistakes.
ReplyDeleteI really must catch up on all the old doctors sometime.
ReplyDeleteAnother Doctor Who reference, yay! And I'd so agree with Chrys on Xena as well.
ReplyDeleteGood luck with the A to Z Challenge!
A to Z Co-Host S. L. Hennessy
http://pensuasion.blogspot.com/
Xaonon is one I don't know. Hmm. Guess I have some Dr. Who to do!
ReplyDeleteThat sounds like a really cool episode. I've clearly been missing out. As for favorite AI, I'd have to say Hal. I'm not even a 2001 fan, but Hal was awesome in all his deadpan glory.
ReplyDeleteSounds like a good one where the Doctor messes something up with good intentions and then has to fix it.
ReplyDeleteThe Face of Evil!! One of my all time favorites episodes.
ReplyDelete--
Tim Brannan, The Other Side Blog
2015 A to Z of Vampires
http://theotherside.timsbrannan.com/
That's a story arc I haven't watched yet.
ReplyDeleteI figured for the letter X there would be a lot of fictional characters today. I haven't seen The Face of Evil but I see its on YouTube. I'll have to watchit this week.
ReplyDeleteXoanon sounds intriguing, but I'm also interested how societies develop when a small group gets stranded somewhere. They always seem to end up having a civil war!
ReplyDeleteThis sounds like an intriguing and complex character. You might just convert me to Doctor Who yet!
ReplyDeleteBoy, the Tom Baker era sure had a lot of strange gods.
ReplyDeleteThat Dr. Who clip really took me back.....sure looks dated now, but perfect for X!
ReplyDeleteCharacters with douple personality are always interesting. Sounds like a good character :-)
ReplyDelete